There are lots of important things we consider when planning dinnertime for the family. One is whether you’re getting value for money out of the ingredients. Another might be whether you even have time to cook the meal. The most important should be how nutritious is this food you’re giving to your family. If you find yourself often overlooking that last part, here are three simple ways to make your family’s mealtimes healthier. 

Order a subscription box

There are many things preventing us from putting together a completely new recipe for dinner every night. A lot of them link back to not having enough time in the day to properly prepare something new. Whether it’s not having time to look in a recipe book for a new dish, or even not having time to buy the ingredients, there’s always an excuse. Sadly, this often means that we sometimes opt for what we think is the easiest option, either a ready meal or a takeaway, both of which are often high in salt and fat.

If you find time is against you, why not get a subscription box to deliver all the recipes and ingredients you need for a meal straight to your door? If you choose a childrens subscription box you could even get your little ones to help you cook the tea. Boxes like those provided by Compass Cooks include illustrated recipe cards that your small chefs can understand. They also come with activity sheets and stickers to teach children about all of the countries around the world that their recipes originate from. 

Try meat-free Mondays

Often families can get into the routine of cooking a portion of meat each night with a side of vegetables. Once you remove meat from the menu, it opens up the door to so many new and exciting recipes. While it’s a big commitment to go vegetarian or vegan, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some of the meat-free options every once in a while. One of the biggest trends out there at the moment is giving up meat for at least one day a week. 

By agreeing to not eat meat every Monday, not only are you encouraging your family to try new meals, you’re also encouraging them to try healthier foods. This can also reduce your family’s carbon footprint as producing meat often uses a lot of natural resources, more so than growing vegetables.  

Recreate restaurant recipes 

Inspiration for new recipes can come from anywhere. Even if you’re not a fan of recipe books or cookery programs, there are still other places you can find new recipes. Next time you’re at a restaurant looking at the menu, think whether there are any meals that you could try creating at home. Restaurants have a huge influence on the food that is sold in supermarkets. For example, many supermarkets have started selling popular restaurant dishes like pulled pork in their stores on the back of how often they’re ordered when people eat out. You’ll be surprised just how easy it is to find some of the ingredients to create some of your favorite restaurant’s dishes.  

We all know by now that it’s important that we wash our hands often, thoroughly and for at least 20 seconds to prevent the spread of germs and disease. What you may not know is that there are things that you are doing every day that are increasing the spread of bacteria even when you do wash your hands, without you knowing about it.

Spread of Bacteria through Hand dryers

What could be more hygienic than drying your hands with hot air? Well, just about anything really. Hand dryers, particularly the high-speed jet dryers that you get in public bathrooms, actually spread germs rather than removing them. 

A study conducted by microbiologists compared the dispersal of bacteria from jet air dryers with warm air dryers and paper towels. They found that the jet air dryer dispersed 20 times more virus than the warm air dryer, and 190 times more than paper towels. The virus was dispersed at six different heights and nine different distances. The study showed that the greatest level of impact was at 2.5 to 4.1 feet, which is about face height for a child.

Jet dryers work by forcing air out sideways at ultra-high speeds, which explains the results. Warm air dryers work by evaporation and paper towels by absorption. 

The study didn’t conclude whether the bacteria originated on the hands of the participants or within the dryer itself, but either way, drying your hands with a paper towel is a much more hygienic option as it works more quickly and the rubbing action removes additional bacteria. You should avoid cloth towel dispensers where possible as the same bits of towel are getting used repeatedly.

Hand sanitisers

A good hand sanitiser (one with at least 60% alcohol) is a great option to get rid of the majority of bacteria when you can’t get to a sink to wash your hands. 

For example, if you are at the gym it’s a good idea to clean your hands between each machine, but you probably aren’t going to want to go all the way to the bathroom to do it, particularly if you aren’t spending long on each one.

The problem is that hand sanitiser dispensers are often covered in germs themselves. A study showed that bacteria accumulate over the course of the day as people operate dispensers.

Where possible it’s better to use sanitisers you don’t have to touch, available from Touch Free Sanitisers, as they allow you to dispense the hand sanitiser without needing to touch the handle, therefore limiting the spread of bacteria.

Not closing the toilet seat

A recent study has shown that if you flush the toilet without closing the lid first it will spread bacteria all over the room. After flushing a toilet containing bacteria-infected feces, the bacteria was found in the air 25cm above the seat and it was determined that surface contamination with this bacteria occurred within 90 minutes after flushing, meaning that droplets are suspended in the air for some time before settling on a surface.

This issue can be combated by installing newer toilets that don’t have an ‘aerosol’ effect, but it’s definitely worth closing the seat every time you flush!

Spread of Bacteria by Farting

A microbiologist conducted an experiment to see whether farting spreads bacteria. The experiment consisted of him asking his colleague to fart into two Petri dishes, one while wearing pants and the other while naked.

When they came back to check the dishes, they found that the one which had been subjected to the naked fart had indeed sprouted bacteria, while the other had not. 

So if you want to avoid spreading bacteria, make sure that you wear pants when farting around others!

In this time of a pandemic, it is important that we remain at home and limit our interactions with people outside to prevent ourselves and our loved ones from getting sick. Those at home, however, may find themselves at their wits’ end finding new things to do given the limited space. One hobby that can provide us escape and giving us a glimpse of nature while staying at home is gardening. Aside from being a hobby however, having a home garden also comes with some health benefits that are not known to many. Go ahead to know about lawn care. 

Studies have shown that being surrounded by and working on a lot of greenery effectively reduce one’s stress. In a recent study done by CNN, participants were asked to do a stressful task and after which were given a choice between gardening and reading. Those who opt to do gardening were observed to have overall better mood, with their blood tests registering to have lower cortisol or the stress hormone. This means that, while gardening is a form of physical task, it can be enjoyable and can relieve one’s stress after a long day of doing stressful work.

Aside from relieving stress in the short term, tending to one’s garden has also been proven to reduce the risk of dementia by as much as 36 percent. A recent research has concluded from a pool of almost 3000 participants spanning ages of 20 to 60 that those who perform physical activities such as gardening regularly, had lower tendencies of developing dementia in the later years.

When a person tends to his garden, he will most likely be exposed to sunlight for some period. Scientists that performed a study in Italy in 2014 which was published in the National Institutes of Health Sciences concluded that adequate exposure to sunlight helped individuals gain steady levels of Vitamin D. This vitamin is essential to increase calcium levels which builds bones and the body’s immune system. Gardeners must also keep in mind though that prolonged exposure without rest can lead to sunburn if they do not apply the appropriate sunscreen.

Aside from providing physical benefits to our body, the lawn care can also help with our mental well-being. Community gardens can give great socializing opportunities for the elderly members of a community to bond, collaborate on gardening tasks, and share goals in growing fresh produce. In turn, participants are less likely to become lonely thanks to the chances that gardening provides them. The sense of accomplishment in successfully growing plants can also bring joy to them as they are given something to look forward to in the future.

On the surface, gardening as a hobby may seem simply to pass time to get a beautiful garden. If we look closer, however, we can discover a whole lot of health benefits that gardening can provide. They may not be apparent at first, but as time goes by, those who engage in gardening will surely reap the health benefits of this wondrous hobby. Those interested in who would like to begin the first few steps in having a home garden can check out Schwartz Brothers Landscape Co, a landscaping and lawn care service company dedicated to provide the best in home garden support in your area.